Can You Appoint A Non-UK Resident As Company Director?

April 5, 2018

Can You Appoint A Non-UK Resident As Company Director?

When you’re forming a new company, one of the first decisions that you’ll need to make is who to appoint as your company director. This is a relatively easy process and there are minimal restrictions as to who you can name as your director. Some companies choose to name non-UK residents as company directors.

There is currently no restriction on where your company director lives. This means that it is perfectly acceptable for you to name a non-UK resident as the director for your company. Companies are considered UK companies because of the location of their official registered office address. They are not deemed to be UK companies because of where the company officers are located. So, you can appoint directors from anywhere in the world and you can have shareholders from around the globe as well, if that is what you want to do.

Note, that while there are currently no legal restrictions that would prevent you from appointing a director from overseas, there are some things that you need to keep in mind. Some banks may choose not to open an official company account if they cannot run a credit check on your company director. If your director lives outside of the UK, this process can be very complicated and many banks may choose not to open the account. At the very least, the account opening process could take much longer if your company director is located outside of the UK.

When you register a limited company in the UK, you are required to maintain an address in the UK for that company. This official office address must be maintained at all times while you are trading under that company name. You are permitted to move your address within the region of your registration, but it must be in the same region at all times. For instance, if you register your company in Scotland, you can move the office address within Scotland, but it must be in Scotland at all times.

You will register your company just as you would if your company director was a UK resident. The process is the same for company registration regardless of where you, your director or your shareholders reside. You can use an online company formation agent to assist you with this process. This is actually a good idea if you’re new to company formation and are using a director who is not located in the UK. Your company formation agent can help you with all of the paperwork involved in registering your company and ensuring that your director meets all of the requirements for appointment.

Also, using a company formation agent means that you do not have to meet with anyone in person. You can register your company and even appoint your director all online and the company formation agent will handle all of the paperwork for you. This process has become quite popular for companies located internationally that want to form a UK company due to the ease of doing so.